The Wild Rice Festival is held every year during the rice harvesting season, which usually spans late August to early September.

As Lac du Flambeau spokesperson Brandon Thoms explains, wild rice has been an important part of Ojibwe culture since the tribes first migrated to the area. A prophecy had foretold that the people should settle in a place where the food grows on the water.

“And so when the Ojibwe people came to the area and discovered wild rice growing, these vast rice fields, they took heed and made it a permanent settlement.”

Wild rice grows in shallow lakes and rivers, and must be harvested in a canoe.

The festival this Saturday includes demonstrations of harvesting techniques, as well as a Powwow dance in the afternoon.

Thoms says it will be the last dance at the Indian Bowl…which is scheduled for demolition next week.

“It’s really significant and it’s going to be a bittersweet day in Lac du Flambeau. This will be the last dance at the Indian Bowl Powwow facility…so there’s a lot of history that goes with the Indian bowl, and it just has a real significance in our community.”

The tribe is working to rebuild the structure as the new Waaswaaganing (wass-wah-gon-eeng) Indian Bowl Living Arts and Cultural Center.

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Wisconsin’s wild rice season is getting a late start, thanks to this year’s long winter and cool summer.

Though Labor Day weekend often marks a key time for harvesting the traditional Ojibwe food staple, this year hardly any rice is mature and ready for picking. That’s according to Wildlife Biologist Peter David with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

“I have heard very few reports of rice being ready at this point, there probably are a couple of odd riverbeds. But by and large, things are not ready to go.”

Lac du Flambeau celebrated the tribe’s purchase of the historic Strawberry Island Thursday. The land was privately held for over a hundred years.

About a hundred people gathered on Sand Beach across from the island that gets its name from its strawberry-like shape. It’s the site of an important battle between the Ojibwe and the Sioux peoples. Lac du Flambeau Chairman Tom Maulson says it’s also spiritually important.